Tomb Raider Takes Cues from Batman and Bond Reboots

[Marshall Honorof]

Tomb Raider Takes Cues from Batman and Bond Reboots

Crystal Dynamics looked to Hollywood for a way to make Lara's story relevant again.

Origin stories can be a real drag, especially when you already know the outcome. We've seen Peter Parker get bitten by a mutated spider more times than we can count, and the story of a young alien named Kal-El has achieved downright mythic status. Even a well-worn origin story can be interesting in the right hands, though. Just take a look at Casino Royale [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/]; Crystal Dynamics sure did. In its upcoming Tomb Raider reboot, Crystal Dynamics took inspiration from James Bond and Batman to learn how retelling an iconic hero's origin story can make it ring true for a modern audience.

"We knew we were facing a problem with a franchise that, at the point of starting development, had been around for 13 years," says Darrell Gallagher, head of Crystal Dynamics. "We knew that to stay relevant we had to change." According to Gallagher, Lara Croft has been a popular and recognizable character for most of her onscreen tenure, but not always a relatable one. The gaming population wants to see Lara as more than just an action hero, and Crystal Dynamics looked to the silver screen to see how other characters handled this transition. "We looked at Batman and Bond and said: 'Wow, they've really done a great job.'" While Lara is not the first character to undergo a major reboot, Gallagher believes that other characters will see similar reinventions in the near future.

Given some of the controversy [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118203-Tomb-Raider-Dev-Rape-is-Not-in-Our-Vocabulary] surrounding Lara's latest adventure, this information could help contextualize the decisions Crystal Dynamics made regarding her character development. Not every franchise reboot needs a gritty backstory, but clearly, having one hasn't done any harm to two of pop culture's most enduring protagonists.

Source: MCVUK [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/tomb-raider-reboot-inspired-by-bond-and-batman/0101083]

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[Able Seacat]

I'm still rooting for this game. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

 

[Seventh Actuality]

I'm gonna go ahead and make the inevitable comment about how nobody felt the need to have Bond or Batman threatened with rape in their dark n'gritty reboots.

Well, unless you count that bit where Le Chiffre whacks Bond's testicles repeatedly with a rope. That was pretty hot.

 

[Somethingfake]

They had to change by doing what all other big old franchises are doing? way to be fresh.
And they took inspiration from *hollywood*?

Captcha "same same" holy fuck captchas are freaky.

 

[jFr[e]ak93]

I was going to make a Batman joke, then I remembered there was a near rape scene...

OT There is dark and gritty, then there is beating the snot out of your protagonist til the audience is sick of it, and that's the end.
I'm afraid this is going to be option number 2...

I can't handle the cut scenes I've seen, they are so battering, it's past realistic.

That said, I'm still hoping this turns out. They may make an 11th hour change ala Boarderlands that saves the day.

 

[MrBaskerville]

It´s a shame that they view the Tomb Raider franchise as a story, to me, the great things about the first game had nothing to do with story. It was an exciting adventure where you explored caves filled with traps, you raided tombs. Along the way it turned into action oriented games with less and less adventure and actual Tomb Raiding, now it´s a dark and gritty character study with cover shooting gameplay. But i´m not really into any of these gritty reboots, i prefer Burton Batman and i´m pretty sure i would prefer old-school bond over serious bond. Just don´t see why everything has to be so DARK AND SERIOUS!!!

Not really that excited, would rather have a TR game resembling the last 20 minutes of Indiana Jones 3, with more focus on traps, puzzle solving and atmosphere. Still waiting for that game, maybe some day in the future.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I'd like to imagine the inspiration that they took from Batman is that Christian Bale is voicing her, doing his Batman growl.

If they don't pull this off it'll be lambasted more than Metroid Other M, at least Samus didn't have a properly established dialogue and character in the previous games.

Also I believe this game, like all the other Tomb Raiders, will sink or swim purely due to how good the levels are, how intuitive and pulse racing the traps, how fun and addictive the platforming, and how fluid the combat is, although if they really do treat Lara as a punchbag like some sort of softcore smut porno for the entire game nothing will save it.

 

[Harkonnen64]

They're also taking cues from The Hunger Games if that image is anything to go by.

 

[Gatx]

Wait. What's Lara Croft's iconic origin story?

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Slightly different in that by my count Lara has no less than three completely distinct origin stories. This one will be number 4.

So it's less about remaking the origin story, and more about the character who emerges at the other end of the origin story.

Which in my opinion is far more interesting anyway.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I'm gonna go ahead and make the inevitable comment about how nobody felt the need to have Bond or Batman threatened with rape in their dark n'gritty reboots.

Neither was Lara.

So before you go throwing around the "R" word, do a bit of research. Read a few accounts of the actual crime and see if any of them even remotely compare.

 

[Paragon Fury]

I'm gonna go ahead and make the inevitable comment about how nobody felt the need to have Bond or Batman threatened with rape in their dark n'gritty reboots.

-snip-

You know what Boudica?

You can go to hell. Your people and their tree-hugging spirituality and blatant militarism have been a thorn in Rome's side for far too long. You attacked us for trying to bring to peace and happiness of Oppaiism to your people, and when we defeated you and let you live and keep your territory you showed us nothing but scorn.

Then you tried to take over our City-State allies who had never done anything to you while you attempted to spread that filth you call "Christianity", only to be humiliated by our mighty mechanized Roman legions.

Well, fuck you. Lets see how smug you are when Edinbuurghhoweverthehellyousayit is a smoldering, nuclear crater.

Oh, and if you'd like to apologize after we unleash nuclear hell on you, you can find us somewhere near Alpha Centuari on our majestic spaceship, spreading the joys of Oppaiism to the stars.




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Wait, what were we talking about again?

 

[Evil Smurf]

This will never be as good as batman, because he is batman. Simple, that is how science works. Besides, we would be happy with good narrative, controls and a fun experience.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

---/rant---

Sorry about that lol. I don't like to be so emotional, but this whole ordeal and its treatment by the public as really upset me.

Maybe its us. Maybe its the times we live in, where having your hand near a girl is now considered attempted rape.

 

[duchaked]

it still looked quite amazing sooo hoping it'll turn out good (and fun to play, of course)